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Category Archives: Middle Eastern

Charoset is a sweet, sometimes alcoholic spread or chutney served on Passover. As a ritual food it’s spread on the cracker-like bread substitute called matzo, and meant to symbolize the mortar between the bricks of Egyptian building projects in the story of Exodus. As an Egyptologist I find this topic problematic, but let’s stick to the food: Ashkenazi Jews–those of European ancestry–usually make charoset with chopped apples, walnuts, wine, and raisins, while Sephardic Jews–who trace their ancestry to north Africa, Spain, and the Middle East–make theirs with dates, figs, or apricots, and lots of spices. I much prefer a date base for my charoset, and I recently decided that this spread is far too delicious to make only once a year. I’ve been eating it on toast, and sometimes with a spoon. My recipe adds a New England twist–maple syrup–and the balancing tang of salted almonds.

You may already be familiar with my vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, and the pre-cooking steps of this recipe are done in much the same way. The difference, apart from the turkey filling, is that you can cook these quite quickly on the stovetop. These make a great finger food for parties, and I’ve also served them as a main with a chopped salad and dips (try tahini or the yogurt dip from my veg grape leaf recipe).

Filling ingredients

Mix everything together until it’s well incorporated

Place the filling at the bottom-center of the leaf and roll it up

Line your pan with extra leaves and arrange your stuffed leaves close together

Ready for the oven!

Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the leaves before you put them on the hob

Chraimi is a Sephardic dish I’ve had at my aunt and uncle’s house on the occasion of many Jewish holidays. It’s a garlicky, tomatoey paste for spreading on your favorite protein. It works best on fish–especially salmon and tilapia, which I’ve used here–but I’ve also done this with tofu, and I’m sure you could use chicken as well. Thanks to my cousin Sharonie for the recipe. I’ve been eating this at her house for years, and always wondered how to make it!

I usually make these with meat, but I tried two veggie recipes this week that really worked. One is savory-sweet, while the other is just plain savory. *Both* times I meant to take a picture of the finished product with the dipping sauce, these delicious little rice envelopes disappeared too fast for me to remember! Stuffed grape leaves, popular in Greek, Turkish, and eastern European cuisine, are a perfect finger food for parties. Or you could just, you know, eat them all yourself.

Stuffed Grape Leaves!

You can buy jarred grape leaves at lots of specialty stores, or in supermarkets with aisles for international foods. Or grab them online!

Wash your leaves in cold water to get the brine off.

Toss the butter or oil, onions, and spices together.

Cook everything until the onions begin to go translucent.

Add the rice and cook it dry for a few minutes.

Now just cook it like rice, with water and stock.

Lay your leaves out vein-side up.

Place a tablespoon-sized bit of rice at the bottom of the leaf, in the center.

Roll the bottom up…

…then fold one side over…

…and the other…

…and roll the whole thing all the way to the end!

Place your leaves in a glass dish.

Pour a mixture of boiling water, olive oil, and lemon juice over the leaves.

Place a plate or some other heavy-ish weight on top. Bake until the water boils off, or drain it off when you’re tired of waiting.

What can’t one do with labneh, the soft, creamy, yogurty cheese of the Middle East? Some things you can definitely do: Dip your veggies in it. Spread it on bread. Use it as a “dressing” on a salad of spinach, red onion, and tapenade. Dunk your over-easy eggs in it. Here’s how to make labneh the easy way.

Looks great in my jar!

On a spinach salad with olive oil, red onion, and sundried tomato paste